


Somewhere Only We Know

by Darcylovette



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters, Broken Families, Childhood, Childhood Friends, Childhood Sweethearts, Children's adventure, Deceit redemption, Divorce, Eight year olds, Fairy Tale Elements, Forehead Kisses, Forests, Growing Up, Growing Up Together, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Kid Fic, Knights - Freeform, M/M, Magic, Magical Kingdoms, Mentioned Physical Abuse, Monsters, Nine year olds, Recovering from past abuse, Seven year olds, Single Parents, Sympathetic Deceit Sanders, Teenage Remy, Virgil's dad was a jerk but he's not in the story, enchanted forests, hand holding, ten year olds
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-05
Updated: 2019-02-05
Packaged: 2019-10-22 22:20:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17671196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darcylovette/pseuds/Darcylovette
Summary: Nothing would ever be the same, not since the summer Virgil moved into their street. Playful Patton, booksmart Logan, and creative Roman invite the young lad to play with them, and soon become friends. But after a fateful trip into the forest, the one just outside of town, the boys find a world never discovered before. A world of magic, monsters, kings and queens, danger, wonder, and above all else... adventure.Keeping the Kingdom a secret was going to be tricky - especially with town bully D breathing down their necks. But with new found powers, an army of new friends, and Roman's older brother, there's nothing the boys couldn't overcome.Right?





	Somewhere Only We Know

The sun was high in the cloudless sky that day, soaking the earth in its warm heavenly glow. All around flowers had bloomed, and blossom had shaken itself free; sticking to shoes and hiding in your hair. Birds peered from nests for signs of lunch, bees danced above the grass, and butterflies fluttered by with colourful, delicate wings. 

A small town was making the most of the wonderful season of summer. Cafes served sweet cakes and pastries to customers sitting outside, who wafted themselves with menus and sipped homemade lemonade. Toddlers held their parent’s hand as they wandered down the busy streets, cats slumbered by open windows, florists opened their doors and enticed passersby with their scents and brilliant colours. 

And… just beyond the high street… the local school had rung its final bell of the day, and announced it was closed for summer. 

 

Children ran out of doors in a symphony of laughter and cheers, skipping across the playground into the waiting arms of their parents. Teachers tried in vain to get them to slow down, but nobody would listen. It was all too exciting. 

Amongst the sea of smiling faces were three young boys of eight and nine years old - Roman with shining eyes and a pleasant smile, Logan with neatly combed hair and a pair of thick glasses, and Patton with messy hair and a paint-splattered cardigan. 

“Are you gonna hang out with us this year?” Patton asked Logan, who was busy cleaning a smudge from his glasses, “Or have you got clubs again?”

“I’m not doing as many this year,” Logan responded, “Father insisted I…” he sighed, “...  _ relax  _ a little this summer.”

“Awesome!” Patton giggled, “You can play theatre with us!”

“Play..?”

“Theatre!” Roman struck a pose, which made Patton laugh even more, “We make up plays and we put them on!”

“Yeah, we get chairs and make a stage and do costumes and everything!”

“... Why?”

“ _ Why? _ ” Patton blinked, “Because it’s really fun! Roman is sooooo good at it, and our parents come watch us and my grandma brings cake and even Mrs Hildinger comes over and she’s real mean!”

“ **I’m** the director, songwriter, leading man, set designer…” Roman counted off on his fingers, “and  _ I _ do my own stunts!”

“What does Patton do?” Logan asked.

“I help!”

“I don’t know much about theatre, though.” Logan frowned, “Can’t we do something else? Like…  _ a newspaper club? _ We can write stories about what goes on in our town.”

“Nothing goes on here!” Roman scoffed.

“Nu-huh,” said Patton, who was attempting to catch a ladybug, “momma says everyone’s got secrets. I bet there’s lots we could find. We can do newspapers AND play theatre, we’ve got the whole summer!”

“ _ Patton!! _ ”

The boy grinned and waved, “That’s my dad, see you tomorrow!”

Patton raced across the yard into the arms of his father, who lifted him into the air, “There he is!”

Patton squealed in delight, “Higher!”

“You’re getting too big for that!” His father dropped him back onto the ground, “How was school?”

“Good!” Patton took his hand and was lead out of the gates.

“Excited for summer, kiddo?”

“You betcha! Can we have a barbeque tonight?”

“Woah,” his dad laughed, “hang on, sport. Summer’s only just started, you know?”

“I knooooow…”

“Maybe next weekend, alright?”

“Kay.”

 

“We’re home!”

Patton rode on his father’s shoulders through the front door and into the living room, where his mother was sat sharing a cup of tea with a woman he didn’t know. Surprised, but not one for shyness, Patton jumped down and said hello to her.

“My, what a polite young man.” the woman smiled, shaking Patton’s waiting hand. She had long black hair, pale skin, and bony fingers clutching the teacup on her lap. Patton thought she looked a little sick, or maybe tired, but knew it wasn’t nice to ask things like that. “You must be Patton, aren’t you?”

“Yes, miss.”

“Oh, call me Ellen. Ellen Perry.”

Patton’s mother laughed, “Patton, Ellen moved in next door, so she’s going to be our new neighbour.”

“You know,” Ellen placed the teacup carefully onto the coffee table, which barely made a sound as it rested against the coaster, “I have a son about your age.”

Patton’s eyes lit up  _ \- a new friend? _

“Yeah?”

“Mhm. He’s next door with my sister, unpacking. He’s a little…” she wet her lips, “... well, he’s a little bit shy. But you’re always welcome to come say hi… if you wanted to.”

“Can I go now? Please?”

The adults laughed as his father patted the boy’s shoulder, “Patton’s a little impatient.”

Ellen smiled, though her eyes looked a little… “That’s fine. His name is Virgil, Carol will let you in.”

“Thank you!” and with that, Patton took off out the house, over the fence, and rapped his knuckles against the door.

Moments later, a woman answered - she looked a lot like her sister, only plumper and older. “Hello, Mrs Perry!” Patton grinned, “My name is Patton, and I live next door, and I met your sister, and can I say hi to Virgil, please?”

The woman blinked, “Virgil? Oh, he’s right upstairs, second door on the left. Come in, please take off your shoes.”

“Okay, thank you!”

Patton slipped off his sneakers and made his way up the stairs, excitement bubbling within him. He knocked three times on the second door on the left, “Hello? May I come in, please?”

There was no response.

“Hello? Anybody in there?”

The stairs creaked as Carol Perry followed after him, sighing deeply, “Honestly, that boy…” she banged a manicured hand against the door, “Virgil! You have a guest, don’t be rude!”

Another pause… then the door opened. A young boy peered behind it, studying Patton with large dark eyes. He had thin brown hair and sharp cheekbones. 

Patton smiled at him, “Hello, my name is Patton. I live next door. It’s nice to meet you, Virgil!”

Virgil looked to his aunt, then back at the new boy, “... Hullo.”

Carol sighed again, “Honestly… Virgil, play nicely.”

As she stomped away, Virgil pulled the door open, keeping his eyes glued to the ground. Patton stepped inside, taking in the bedroom. It was smaller than Patton’s, with a dark green carpet and brown walls. Virgil’s bed was near the open window, with grey bed sheets and a small end table. Clearly the boy was still unpacking - a few boxes laid unopened on the chest of drawers.

Patton continued to smile as Virgil closed the door and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his sweatshirt. It was black and patchy, three sizes too big for him. 

“I really like your room, Virgil.” Patton took a seat on the bed, eyeing the boxes, “Need some help?”

Virgil shook his head. He was smaller than Patton, maybe younger?

“I’m eight years old, how old are you?”

“... Seven.” Virgil mumbled.

“Oh!” Patton nodded, understanding instantly that he had a duty to look after him. “You’re nearly as old as me. When’s your birthday?”

Virgil shrugged.

“You don’t know?”

Virgil shrugged again.

“That’s okay, I’m sure you’ll remember soon.” Patton grinned, “It’s summer now, so we can play everyday, you know? You wanna play? Do you have any toys?”

Virgil shook his head.

“No toys?” Patton blinked, but decided not to let it hang in the air, “That’s okay, I have some we can play with. Wanna come over to my house? It’s only next door.”

Virgil hesitated, then shook his head.

“Oh… how come?”

“Mama says not to go with strangers.” 

Patton nodded knowingly, “That’s very sensible of you! Well, guess we’ll need to be friends first.” he flashed a smile, showing off his missing teeth, “Do you wanna talk for a bit?”

Virgil sat down on the carpet, “... Kay.”

“Hmm…” Patton tapped his chin, thinking carefully, “... so, is your daddy here?”

“In Chicago.”

“Oh.” Patton knew from school and certain TV shows that sometimes parents didn’t live together, and that’s okay. But another state? That was a bit strange, wasn’t it? “Is… that where he lives?”

Virgil nodded.

“Are you from there too?”

Virgil nodded.

“Wow! I’ve seen pictures of it in books, it looks really cool! Did you like it there? Do you miss it?”

Virgil shook his head.

“Well, that’s alright. You’re here now. So you live with your aunt too? That’s really cool, she seems super nice!”

“She’s not.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

Virgil shrugged, “She’s going tomorrow.”

“So… it’s just you and your momma, huh?”

Virgil nodded, slower this time.

“Your momma seems nice. Is she?”

“Yeah.”

“She’s at my house right now with my parents. She had a very pretty necklace.”

Virgil’s eyes went shiny, “... What do you want?”

“Huh?”

“Why won’t you go away?”

Patton’s chest twinged as his cheeks burned, “I… I’m sorry… I-I can go if th-that’s what you want? I just… thought you could use a friend? Cos you’re new and...”

Virgil tucked his knees to his chest, burying his face against them, “Why?”

Patton didn’t understand, “Why… not?”

Virgil glared at the carpet, hugging his legs.

“Do you… want me to go away?”

Virgil nodded.

“Okay… so, you want me to leave now?”

Virgil shook his head.

“I’m… confused now?” Patton laughed, “You want me to go away but don’t want me to leave?”

The younger boy played with his hair, “... You’re very loud.”

“... Oh.” Patton dropped his volume, “Am I talking a lot?”

Virgil nodded.

“I’m sorry. We don’t have to talk anymore. Do you wanna do something else?”

The boy looked across the room, and pointed at one of the boxes. Patton hurried to open it. “Wow… look at all these books!” He pulled one out, turning back to his new neighbour, “Wanna read for a bit?”

“... Yes.”

“Let's do it.”

 

Eternities seemed to pass as Patton and little Virgil sat across from each other, noses buried in books. For someone so young and anxious, Patton was surprised to see he owned all the _ Goosebumps _ , as well as dozens of other scary stories. Not one for horror, Patton was equally surprised by how much he was enjoying them - and between those pages… the boy felt he understood his new neighbour a little more. The stories were just stories, made up by someone else and put onto paper, and couldn’t hurt them. When the world is frightening and hard to understand, it’s comforting to know that the true horror only existed in words and pictures. So whatever was to come… it would never be as bad as it was in the books. 

Then again… when one’s life is so overwhelming and horrible, even the scariest story can be a well-received escape from reality. That was quite an upsetting thought - thankfully, it hadn’t crossed Patton’s mind.

A knock at the door snapped the boys back into the bedroom, and a familiar pleasant face peered down at them. 

“Look at you both,” Ellen was smiling, differently from how she smiled nextdoor, “oh, has Virgil shown you his stories? They’re too scary for me, those ones!”

Patton laughed, “They’re really scary! I like them though…”

Virgil looked up, watching Patton over the pages of  _ Night Of The Living Dummy _ , “... I like that one best.”

“Yeah?” Patton looked down at his own story -  _ The Pumpkin Heads _ . “It’s really good!”

Ellen cleared her throat, “Patton, dear? Some boys came to your house asking for you, I told your mother I’d let you know.”

Patton jumped up, “Oh! Thank you, I’ll go back now.”

“No problem, sweetheart. You’re welcome back anytime, right Virgil?”

The boy nodded once.

“Do you wanna come with me?” Asked Patton, keeping his voice soft, “You can meet my friends and we can all play together.”

“No, thank you…” Virgil mumbled.

“Virgil…” sighed Ellen.

“It’s okay.” Patton understood. “Thank you for letting me read your books!” he bent down to pass the book back, Virgil reached up… and pressed the book against Patton’s palms. “Huh?”

“The ending is the best bit.”

“... Oh!” Patton’s eyes sparkled as he clutched the book to his chest, “I’ll take good care of it! Thank you! I’ll bring it back tomorrow!!”

“Bye.”

“Bye!”

 

“Hi guys!”

Logan and Roman were leaning against the fence.

“Hello, Pat.”

“Whatcha got there, Logan?”

The bespeckled boy looked down at his hands, “A book. My father gave it me just now, as a reward for my grades.”

“ _ Alice in Wonderland? _ ” Patton read the title, “I love that film!”

“Me too!” chimed in Roman.

“Well, it was a book first.” Logan frowned, “... Do you want it?”

“What?” Patton stared at him, “That’s yours! It was a gift, Logan… you can’t just give it away without reading it.”

“I hate these stories… they’re stupid. It’s not real!”

Roman sighed dramatically, “Booooooring!”

“I am  **not** boring. I’m… practical.”

“Same thing.”

“Is not!”

“Is too!”

“I got a book today too!” Patton lifted  _ The Pumpkin Heads _ high into the air, hoping it was enough to keep the peace, “The new boy next door lent it to me.”

Roman stuck his tongue out at Logan, but turned back to the other, “Ew, looks scary!” he laughed, “What’s it about?”

“These kids who go trick-or-treating with some mean kids and then these kids with pumpkins for heads come with them and want to force them to go trick-or-treating forever!”

Logan looked concerned, “Why on  _ earth  _ would you want to read that?”

“Virgil said the ending is the best bit, so I think something really nice is gonna happen soon. Or the bad kids learn their lessons about being mean. Or something. I’m gonna finish it tonight!”

“You’re gonna give yourself nightmares.”

Patton crossed his arms, “Will not. Anyways, when I finish it I can bring it back and hang out with Virgil some more. He’s really nice, but he’s shy and doesn’t say much. I asked him to come play but I think… I think three of us might be a bit scary for him.”

“His mother seems very nice,” Logan thought, “hm… my father did mention someone new was moving into the street. Single mother and her son from out of state.”

“Yeah! Chicago!”

Roman gasped, “Like the musical?”

Logan sighed, “It’s a  _ state. _ ”

“Shut up!” Roman elbowed the older boy, who winced and moved away. “Anyway! Wanna come to the park? There’s frogs around the pond, we’re gonna try and catch one!”

Patton beamed, “Like a pet?”

“Yeah!”

“No.”

“ _ Logannnnn… _ ”

“They can’t survive away from their pond, Roman… I already told you.  _ I’ve _ read about them, afterall.”

Roman rolled his eyes, “You’ve read about everything.”

“Well…” Patton played with his fingers, “I don’t wanna take them away from their homes. But we can look at them, and maybe hold one?”

Logan nodded, “Sure. Come on, let's go by my house. I’ll grab my book on amphibians.”

“I knew you’d try and make this educational…”

 

Fifteen minutes later, the boys were crouched by the shallow end of the pond, watching a family of frogs croak happily on a mass of reeds and lilypads. Frogspawn floated just below the surface, ready to hatch any second. 

“So, they don’t have any legs when they come out?” Patton asked, peering over Logan’s shoulder into the large green book.

“Nope. They’re tadpoles at first, then they grow legs and feet. Look.” He lifted the book so Patton could study the pictures.

“Cool… like mermaids?”

“... Sure.”

Patton giggled, “Awesome.”

“Nng… almost… got... it…” Roman, laying on his stomach, was slowly reaching towards an unsuspecting frog. 

“Don’t hurt it…” Patton whispered.

“I’ll won’t… it’s fiiiine… gotcha!” Roman leapt up with a small green creature between his cupped hands, who looking thoroughly unimpressed at being picked up like this. Patton scurried over to get a close look.

“Woah! Look at his eyes! How does it feel?”

“Slimy.” Roman laughed.   

“Groooooss.”

“Pet him!”

Patton tapped the frog on the forehead, squealing in delight, “Ewwww, I love him!”

“His name is Frodo. Frodo the Froggo.”

“Yeah?”

“He’s magic.”

“Yeah?!”

“Yeah, but it’s a secret.”

Patton pressed a finger to his lips, “ _ I won’t tell. _ ”

Logan snapped the book closed, “Alright, put him back now.”

“Aww…”

Once Frodo the Froggo had returned safely home, and plopped into the water, Logan lead the troops back to their street. “My hands feel funny.” Roman noted.

“You’d better wash them before you eat.”

“I will, Logan!”

“Alright, I will see you both tomorrow.”

“Night, Logan!”

“Goodnight, Patton.”

“Night, Roman!”

“See ya, Patton.”

Turning to the next house over, Patton smiled as he spotted a familiar shape in the window. “... Goodnight, Virgil. See you tomorrow...”


End file.
